Busted: Stolen medicines worth Rs10m seized

They had been stolen from several hospitals in Lahore

SARGODHA: The Federal Investigation Agency and the Health Task Force have recovered stolen medicines worth at least Rs10 million from a three-storey building in the populated area of Kot Fareed in Sargodha. Health EDO Aqib Naikukara told journalists on Thursday that the Health Department had received a tip-off about a cache of stolen medicines kept in a building in Kot Fareed.

He said they had raided the building and found a large cache of 30 types of medicines stashed in various nooks and crannies of the building. He said the building had several concealed corners where the criminals had hidden the medicines. The medicines had been stolen from Ganga Ram Hospital, Services Hospital, Lahore General Hospital and Mayo Hospital among other large public hospitals, he said. “We know this could not have been done without the connivance of some government officials. We will investigate the matter and arrest everyone involved in this scandal,” the Health EDO said.

FIA officials said they had arrested one suspect in this case and had been taken to the nearest police station for interrogation. They said they would investigate the case from all angles. The FIA officials also said that the most of the stolen medicines had passed their expiry dates.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2016.